Most everyone knows about Darwin, and what they think they know is that Charles Darwin is the discoverer of Evolution through Natural Sel...

In 1977, one of my best buddies told me about a friend he  had, who had just custom-built a bicycle for him, from components. This guy would...

"For the record...." Chris is the 2015 recipient of a 3arts grant , which makes me incredibly proud and also gives me the...

In the August 2015 issue of Scientific American, I came across an article titled "Planet Hard Drive", a "thought experiment...

A Lot To Listen To Sometimes, if you're lucky, there is nothing to hear but the sound of the wind blowing through trees. N...

As some of my readers may have noticed, I spend a lot of time these days among trees, paying attention to trees, cutting back invasive trees...

Last night, I decided to re-read Stumbling on Happiness , a book I'd discovered a few years ago and was (then) delighted with.  I cho...

I spent 10-15 hours a week in various locations of still-wooded Chicago (and now nearby Lincolnwood) cutting down buckthorn. Some people ha...

First, I encourage everyone reading this (and beyond) to  subscribe to Consumer Reports  and make use of their unbiased, science-based revie...

Who appreciates the display of feathers by a male peacock? Female peacocks seem to get a kick out of them. They seem to p...

More than a few people think that I am pretty good at what I do, that I am  successful . I respect their judgement and thought abou...

So we've had taxis for years and we know that generally taxi drivers work hard, long hours and make small amounts of money. The cab comp...

Sure, "trepidatious" might not be a word, per se. But I am confident it is something that more than one very famous male actor i...

Saw Interstellar last night. Only had to wait through TWENTY MINUTES of trailers. Had to put fingers in my ears for much of it. So loud, so ...

Christopher Nolan of Dark Knight fame releasing new sci-fi movie: Interstellar. In a Chicago Tribune interview, he says: I could be ...

What could be more self-centered? Why should anyone else in the world care what I like best about myself? I have no idea. That is fo...

A few weeks ago, I moved my office into the basement. That was a big change. That room upstairs, with big windows looking out onto Pratt Ave...

I don't know most people in Chicago on an individual basis, but of all the people I don't know, my favorite Chicagoans are scavenger...

In 2013, the big sensation in (my) children's publishing was the release of Vivian Vulture and the Cleanup Culture . In 2014, the h...

I was one of those dot.com boom excitables who decided that he must own a Herman Miller Aeron chair in order to be super cool and incredibly...